In the 'Post' newsroom, rumors of editor Col Allan's imminent return from an Australian detail

The company had announced that Allan's Australian detail would only last "two to three months." But Post watchers and employees were dubious. "The common consensus is: I don't think there's anybody who thinks Col will be returning," one insider told Capital near the end of August.

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The thinking went like this: Jesse Angelo, long thought to be heir apparent to the Post editorship, was being given the reins while Allan was being given a graceful way of exiting.

Now, word is spreading in the newsroom that Allan's return is imminent. Sources said they've been told he'll be back at the paper by Oct. 1.

"It's a surprise to most people," one source told Capital. "Initially we thought it was just a way to ease him out of the picture. But they did say in the beginning that he was coming back, so now it appears that may be the case."

Whether or not that means Allan will in fact return to being full-time editor-in-chief of the Post, which has undergone significant change in his absence under Angelo's watch, remains to be seen. Angelo has led the newsroom these past two months while shepherding the Post through a reboot of its website, making numerous staff appointments and continuing in his role as publisher.

The Post's public relations team would not comment on Allan's plans. But several sources said one of his kids is still in high school here, which would seem to throw a wrench in any possible immediate plans to repatriate to Australia.